River Krishna

[N. Ganesan]

>but the whole of Tamilnadu right upto the Krishna delta has plenty
>of Palm trees (not date palms but the ones from which Taadi (Tamil)/
>Kallu (in Telugu) -- an intoxicating liquor is made).

 In Tamil also, kaLLu/kaL is there, in fact most common for toddy,
the palm liquor. Also, Iizham means toddy and gold.
In Kerala, the toddy tapping caste was called Iizhavar.
Today they are powerful. Did they come from Ceylon?? Among
Tamil Nadars, Christian missionaries worked. Robert Caldwell
wrote the first book in English on Nadars.
Nadar businessmen spend 10s of lakhs, often competing with
Nattukkottai Chettiars, to become trustees of major temples of TN.
David Rudner on Nagarattaars; R. L. Hardgrave on Nadars.

GowDas of Karnataka have their TN counterparts called GowNDas;
Brenda Beck, Peassant society in Kongu, 1972. In fact, B. E. F
Beck recorded/translated the oral epic on Kongu Vellalas (GowNDan).
Beck's study of Annamar kathai is a first in India, later followed
by G. Roghair on an oral epic on Telugu Velamas.

Is GowDa-GowNDa a parallel to eraDu(ka.) - iraNDu (Ta.)?? In
 Kannada inscriptions,  gAmuNDa/gAvuNDa occurs - a precursor to
gowDa. Interested in knowing whether GowDas in Karnataka, their
 jAti purANas, or any other Kannada caste have a memory of
vEL(Ta.)/VELAn(Ta.)/vELALA /bEL/bElA/velama(Te.)???

Hope experts like Dr. Zydenbos or Kannadigas tell this because
Tamil sangam texts call Karnataka region as "vEL pulam".
Also, pl. refer the thread on BEluuru and BeLagAm and the
relationship to "vEL"s.

Thanks a lot.

Sincerely,
N. Ganesan



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